Integrated circuits and integrated circuit packaging systems can be found in a multitude of portable electronic devices, such as smart phones, pocket PCs, digital cameras, location based devices, and other wireless products. Today's customers and electronics systems are demanding the functional integration of memory and logic within the smallest footprint, lowest profile, and lowest cost package available. Consequently, manufacturer's are turning to three-dimensional packaging to achieve the required high level of functional integration necessary to support these mobile multimedia products.
Integrated circuit packaging systems continue to advance toward miniaturization by vertically stacking packages in package-on-package configurations to increase the density of the components while decreasing the sizes of the products that are made therefrom.
However, vertically stacked packages have their own problems, such as, local and global planarization inconsistencies, which makes the package-to-package stacking assembly process difficult due to the irregularities in the flatness or planarity of the packages.
Thus, a need still remains for a reliable integrated circuit packaging system and method of fabrication, wherein the integrated circuit packaging system provides a simplified process flow for minimizing substrate and package warpage problems in stacked package configurations. In view of the ever-increasing commercial competitive pressures, along with growing consumer expectations and the diminishing opportunities for meaningful product differentiation in the marketplace, it is critical that answers be found for these problems. Additionally, the need to reduce costs, improve efficiencies and performance, and meet competitive pressures adds an even greater urgency to the critical necessity for finding answers to these problems.
Solutions to these problems have been long sought but prior developments have not taught or suggested any solutions and, thus, solutions to these problems have long eluded those skilled in the art.